Investing.com - The New Zealand dollar was higher against its U.S. counterpart on Thursday, pulling away from Wednesday's two-month trough as the Federal Reserve's latest meeting minutes weighed on the greenback.
NZD/USD hit 0.7340 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 0.7323, rising 0.21%.
The pair was likely to find support at 0.7272, the low of March 18 and resistance at 0.7444, the high of May 19.
The greenback weakened after the Fed's April meeting minutes showed that the timing of a rate hike "would depend on the evolution of economic conditions and the outlook".
The Fed also brushed aside the U.S. economy's fragile start in 2015, attributing the lack of growth to "transitory" factors that will abate soon.
Meanwhile, in its annual budget release, New Zealand's Treasury blamed low inflation for the government's failure to deliver a promised budget surplus this year.
New Zealand hoped to become one of the first developed nations to return to a surplus following the 2008 global financial crisis. That would allow it to begin repaying debt.
According to the release, the planned surplus has turned into a projected deficit of NZ$684 million for the year ending in June. However forecasts for next year indicate a small surplus, increasing to a NZ$3.6 billion surplus by 2019.
Elsewhere, data showed that China's HSBC Flash Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 49.1 this month from 48.9 in April, compared to expectations for an increase to 49.3.
China is New Zealand's second biggest export partner.
The kiwi was lower against the Australian dollar, with AUD/NZD edging up 0.12% to 1.0788.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a string of reports including initial jobless claims, existing home sales and a look at manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region.